Army Specialist Bradley
Manning,
the intelligence analyst who leaked the “Collateral Murder” video
of US pilots shooting down Iraqi civilians (including two Reuters
photographers)
in cold blood, is finally being charged. For revealing to the
American people the truth about what’s going on in Iraq, Manning faces
horrendous legal consequences – nearly sixty years in prison if
convicted
on all counts. One of the charges, incredibly, is espionage. He
was a “spy,” according to the US government – for letting Americans
in on the “secret” that we are committing war crimes in Iraq, and
around the world.

This case has already generated
considerable publicity, much of it seemingly put out there by the feds
and their media operatives – yes, editors of Wired magazine,
I’m talking about your pathetic rag – and designed to obfuscate
the issue with personal attacks on Manning. How Manning was busted,
and by whom, is a sickening tale of a government informant working
in tandem with the hi-tech “media” to “out,” prosecute, and
smear a brave whistleblower – go
here for the full
story. Suffice to say, in this space, that Manning’s detractors have
stepped up their propaganda campaign: now that charges have been filed
and the “mainstream” media is covering the case, the smears have
migrated from Wired to the Associated Press. Check out this
story, which
begins rather oddly:

“With his custom-made
“humanist” dog tags and distrust of authority, Bradley Manning
was no conventional soldier.

“Ostracized by peers in
Baghdad, busted for assaulting a fellow soldier and disdainful of the
military’s inattention to computer security, the 22-year-old
intelligence
analyst styled himself a “hactivist.”

It goes on like that for some
thirty-seven paragraphs, focusing on Manning the “slight,
boyish-looking
son of divorced parents from Crescent, Okla., population 1,400,” who
recently got in a fight with a fellow soldier, and was suffering from some
“adjustment” problem that had him slated for discharge. In addition, we are told, he had “stylish, upswept
hair and a stated affinity for gay-rights groups including Repeal the
Ban, which seeks to end the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on
homosexuals
serving in the U.S. military.”

The article goes on to cite
a friend who says Manning has “anger issues.” You can see where
this is going: the idea is to characterize the leaker as a “disturbed”
individual who sought to act out his personal issues with some kind
of attention-getting stunt. This accomplishes the key task of diverting
our attention away from the government’s crimes – which Manning
bravely exposed to the light of day – and shifting the focus to
Manning’s
alleged shortcomings. It’s a crude, even primitive, method – and
it may very well work.

The “Collateral Murder”
video, released by Wikileaks, has done enormous damage to US propaganda
efforts, which seek to portray the US presence in Iraq as benevolent
and Operation “Iraqi Freedom” a success. With Wikileaks about to
release yet another video, this time reportedly chronicling a similar
atrocity in Afghanistan, the feds have their agenda all set as far as
Manning is concerned: shut him up, lock him up, and throw away the key.

Particularly disgusting, even
in this depraved era, is the journalistic contingent that echoes the
government’s case like a Greek chorus. Aside from Wired‘s
contemptible collaboration with the snitch Adrian Lamo, we have one
Gabriel Schoenfeld, described by AP as “an author who supports cracking
down on leakers,” whose support for prosecuting Manning is reported
as follows:

“Schoenfeld, author of ‘Necessary Secrets’ and a senior fellow at
the conservative Hudson Institute, said leaks of military information
during wartime run counter to America’s interests. ‘We’re serious about
trying to win, and it’s extremely damaging to the morale of our
troops,’ he said. ‘It inflames the local opinion, where we have a real
battle for hearts and minds.’”

The inflammation of American
opinion is what our the War Party is concerned about: the real battle
for hearts and minds is taking place right here in the good ol’ US
of A, where it counts. Because if the Obama administration fails to
mobilize public opinion around support for the war – or, at least,
fails to keep popular antiwar sentiment from penetrating the Beltway
bubble – then the President might as well have replaced Gen. Stanley McChrystal
with nobody, for all the difference it will make.

Schoenfeld, you’ll recall,
was one of the loudest defenders of accused spies Steven Rosen and Keith
Weissman, two top employees of AIPAC, Israel’s powerful Washington
lobby, who recruited Larry Franklin, the Pentagon’s top Iran analyst,
to pass sensitive secrets to Israeli government officials. A friendly
judge, and a public outcry – led in part by Schoenfeld – got them off once
the Obama administration took the reins at the Justice Department. Rosen
and Weissman, despite having stolen reams of important intelligence [.pdf] from us, were basically pardoned by the Obama-ites – thanks to
Schoenfeld
& Co. – while Manning is having the book thrown at him (to the
applause of the Schoenfelds of this world).

In defending Rosen and
Weissman,
Schoenfeld averred that these two innocents were just “journalists,”
doing what “everyone” in Washington does – trading on inside
information.
The AIPAC duo, who had been sneaking around Washington meeting with
their quarry in darkened restaurants and on crowded street corners,
were just exercising their “First Amendment rights,” Schoenfeld
protested. The affair was “misbegotten,” he says in his book. –
but it’s okay to prosecute and jail Manning. Because, after all, instead
of stealing on behalf of a foreign power – Israel, our “friend”
and “ally” – he did it to get the truth out to the American people,
and we can’t have that!

The Manning revelations –
not only the two videos, but those 260,000 diplomatic cables the accused
soldier reportedly downloaded and sent off to Wikileaks – have already
delivered a body blow to the War Party’s efforts, with the promise
of much more to come. That’s why the powers-that-be and their media
sock puppets are going into overdrive, pushing back as hard as they
can: they apparently think a preemptive strike will somehow ameliorate
the growing crisis. With public support for the war plummeting, and
a rebellion brewing in the Democratic party’s base, the administration
can ill afford to sustain any more damage to their position before it
becomes completely untenable. Their fondest hope is that they can
railroad
him quickly, and douse public interest in the case.

We can’t let that happen. Go here to find out how you can help free
Bradley Manning – a patriot and a true soldier, who wouldn’t stand
by silently while atrocities were committed in his name and under his
flag.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that if antiwar sentiment in the 21st Century US was going to penetrate the Beltway Bubble, it would have done so some time ago. Instead, it has been demonstrated that even the most egregiously warmongering regime, engaging in the crudest abuses of power, and violations of Geneva Conventions and other domestic and international laws, is able to withstand popular opposition with no noticeable impact. Moreover, they set in motion practices and policies that can easily be absorbed and adopted by far more sophisticated, manipulative executive regimes, much more effective at defusing antiwar resistance. A long dark night of Hegemony and Empire is falling over us, and our historic task now is as much to provide the footnote in history books that not all Americans were evil as anything else.

Bravo to Justin.The smear job is to put the fear in anyone else attempting to release damaging videos to the public.Notice one oddity–USA does not have a actual country's name.America is a continent. Give USofA time,it will be no better than Israel–no declared borders and kills at will.
Notice,the Bad guys spueing hatred towards Manning are all Kosher Israel Firsters. Just Imagine if instead, Manning was in the Israell MOSSAD Army and did the same–released videos of MOSSAD planting explosives in WTC towers–his corpse reside next to Saddam's grave.

What's wrong with the means here? Like it or not, the military operates on funds gleaned from the public at large, acts collectively in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Podunk, USA, and puts that same public at risk through their actions. You and I have every reason to want to know of their behavior-and they have utterly no justification for hiding it.

Its not like this kid stole the top secret plans for the new and improved everlasting gobstopper from Imperial Widgets Inc. and sold them to Willie Wonka for a profit. He revealed to its coerced investors what the US Military was doing with their money, and put his neck on the line in the process. I hope you can see the difference.

FTA: "Schoenfeld, you’ll recall, was one of the loudest defenders of accused spies Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, two top employees of AIPAC, Israel’s powerful Washington lobby, who recruited Larry Franklin, the Pentagon’s top Iran analyst, to pass sensitive secrets to Israeli government officials."

Precisely the reason when I hear the term Russian "spies," I begin to snore….zzzzzzzzz….

His first mistake was not killing an innocent Iraqi family, raping the daughter, killing her, burning the body, and trying to make it look like the insurgents did it. Or murdering two bound Afghan pregnant women, then digging the bullets out, and denying it.

Then many Americans, and particularly Right Wingers, should have recognized his patriotism and rushed to his defense.

Don't you know there's an imperial project on? The Queen of England, as a symbol of unchanging majesty in the midst of turmoil, has appeared at the United Nations. General Petraeus has announced that we, the nations united, are bringing a new day to Afghanistan (and helping them to get ready to develop their bounteous resources). Why would anyone be so churlish (though from a small town in Oklahoma) as to want to bring discredit to such nobility?

Pat Tillman was going to a be a beautiful poster boy for the recruitment offices. And then he changed. He doubted, as so many do, once they see what is going on. But never mind, they intended to turn him into a trophy anyway, so they could wave his bloody shirt. Unfortunately, his mother had other ideas.

So what we are talking about here is someone getting in the way of the well-crafted publicity machine, standing there like Rachel Corrie or someone in front of tank in Tiananmen Square, and saying that what you have heard about the benevolence of this project (whatever it be) ….. is a LIE!

If there is a silver lining to the MSM coverage of the Manning affair, it is that it proves, once and for all, beyond any reasonable basis of contention, that ALL of the major MSM outlets are nothing but propaganda organs for the regime. Apparently they now feel that the public hass FINALLY, after at least ten generations, been sufficiently cleansed of the ability to think critically that the media are now no longer obligated to even maintain a pretense of objectivity. Of course the average Amoricon sheep will continue to drink up this intellectual sewage as if it were pristine spring spring water and will continue to consider itself "informed."

You might also add to the lesson plan Michael Medved's definition of "atrocity":

"I am actually one of the few people in the country who has seen the new movie. It is called 'Redacted' … And let me just tell you, before I go to actually reviewing it: It could be the worst movie I've ever seen. I mean, the out and out worst, most disgusting, most hateful, most incompetent, most revolting, most loathsome, most reprehensible cinematic work I have ever encountered. This is having reviewing movies for more than 25 years. [It] covers a lot of disgusting ground, but none more disgusting than 'Redacted,' which portrays the Marine Corps, one of the finest organizations ever assembled by human beings, portrays the U.S. Marine Corps, as corrupt, vicious, racist killers and rapists…

It portrays the members of our Marine Corps in the most disgusting way imaginable. They hang out in barracks, drunk or stoned, with Confederate flags all over the place. And the head Marine, who is the leading rapist and murderer, is a big fat guy, I mean, hugely out of shape, right – just the typical Marine (sarcastic)…They're clearly trying to indict and smear Rush Limbaugh by saying that secretly he wants to rape and abuse 14-year old girls and murder them and then burn their bodies …

The film is atrociously acted. It's incredibly badly done….

Look, I never say this. I don't believe in boycotts. I don't. But I actually think Bill O'Reilly, I know has been going on about this movie even though he hasn't seen it. O.K. I've now seen it. Bill, Bill – hey. It's worse than you think.

This film is an atrocity. It is zero stars as far as I'm concerned. It's very much Rated R. I honestly was close to vomiting when I saw the film. I have seen a lot of unspeakable garbage in years and years of reviewing movies. Nothing quite like this. It is a slander on the United States of America. It is a slander on the Marine Corps. It is a slander on our troops…Everyone associated with this film ought to be ashamed. I will never see a Brian De Palma film in the same way again….What is he trying to do with this kind of thing? Will it inspire future terrorists? Of course it will! Because it portrays the United States troops in Iraq as sick, murderous, deviant losers…"

STOP paying taxes and STOP obeying. Nothing else is going to stop them. They will only continue to treat us as their property as long as we bow down and fear them. When we (peacefully) say, no, we've had enough and we no longer consent, then they will have no choice but to deal with us in a different way. It probably won't be pretty, but then, how's the road ahead looking?

"Madrid, Jul 6 (^Prensa Latina) A Spanish court on Tuesday was seeking the arrest of undercover CIA agents it says used false documents in Spain during the dirty war on terrorism ordered by the George W. Bush administration.

That revelation, reported by the local press, was offered by judicial sources investigating U.S. civilian flights with stopovers in Spanish airports between 2003 and 2005."

Gesu Maria Cristo–and these buggers don't even spick English.

So whom has Ron Paul moved to impeach, besides Clinton, or called for war crimes trials of?

Marxist Leninists are so acute at economic predictions for the US it may be time to take a page from the Communist Chinese and form a brokerage house. Party membership not required–clear-eyed observers like Paul Craig Roberts, who really knows the numbers, cordially invited to join.

Yes, Pfc. Manning is a true American hero and patriot. He understands what the American Revolution was all about. It was fought to defend and uphold the God-given and natural rights of every human being (yes, I know, it would take another two centuries for black Americans to fully realize their rights). Pfc. Manning understands that "WE hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Those rights were later codified in the Constitution as the Bill of Rights. Yes, Pfc. Manning understands that the unjustified, immoral, aggressive, imperialistic and murderous wars in the Middle East are, in fact, war on the basic right to human life itself. If a mere private in the US Army understands that, why can't the generals in the Pentagon and America's political leaders understand that? Oh America, America, how far hath thou fallen!

Just kidding – I don't pretend to be the only person in the innertubes who has discovered the media sham (and honestly, Mr Raimondo should be well aware now that the mainswamp media is part of the ENTERTAINMENT industry).

Kudos to Mr Raimondo for mentioning that Schlomo-feld has NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER with the leaking of classified information so long as the leaker or recipient is part of his deluded Tribe. Gott Mit Uns, after all.

Anosognosia runs so deep in these charlatans that they think it's The Force.

That said, this – like the "terror threats confected by FBI informants" story – is simply evidence of Peter Teeley's view of how the political class uses the media – get a lie on the TV news and 20 million people see it. If it is subsequently proved untrue, the refutation appears in print one news cycle later, and 20,000 people read it (if you're lucky). {Teeley was the press liaison for Bush '41').

It's mindlessness, the inability to discern fact from fiction. That's what 'no child[all children]left behind' is all about teaching mindlessness starting from pre school which is institutionalized by the government, business[ads], pretend christain churcheswhich gives mindlessness legitimacy. It readily observable daily on TV, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. This strategy was explained by NAZI Hermann Goerring, create imagined fears for patiotism.

"DC is full of individuals who's loyalties lie with Tel Aviv." And, may I add, the CFR "New World Order" globalists, the Bildeberger "New World Order" globalists, and Goldman Sachs-Wall Street Crime Syndicate. Go here for the truth before Washington throws its proposed internet "kill switch.": http://www.infowars.com or http://www.prisonplanet.com. I wish the readers and writers of Antiwar well. V.

Just on the Rosen and Weissman tangent, I followed that bizarre scenario; Franklin was convicted for passing 'secrets' to them, and is in prison — and they're home free? WTF?

Which makes me think of the Sibel Edmonds saga … and Coleen Rowley.

It's all a big joke, on the American people. They're the only ones 'protected' from the secrets and the rest of the world snickers. The spycraft elite anywhere know all, and the whistleblowers try to educate We the People with real transparency.

Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000].